nebraska: chant des oiseaux

Stepping up for his fourth release on Heist, we’ve got sample wizard Nebraska coming in with some lovely chops and a giant curveball of an a-side that has summer anthem written all over it. Curious? Dive into this massive 4 track EP by the London native who keeps on bringing the goods. The Chant des Oiseaux EP is built around a collaboration between Nebraska and BeBelle. Anyone who’s picked up Nebraska’s 2021 release on his own Friends & Relations label will have already heard a glimpse of what happens when these 2 get into the studio. They have a mutual love for French vocals and we can’t blame them; everything BeBelle says, whispers and chants just sounds syrupy sweet. This might be most evident on the title track of this single, where modulated Rhodes chords, distant chirping and fluttering of birds and a minimal beat form the foundation for BeBelle’s mesmerizing vocal. The dreamy and contemplative vibe of this track makes you long for those endless days of summer. We’re not sure if it’s a 70’s summer we’re longing back for, or 2022’s summer to look forward to, but with music like this, it doesn’t really matter, does it? If you were still hovering mid-air on the vibe of the A1, ‘Skelp Tune’ – the second A track – will take you back to the ground and straight into the club. Skelp tune is a Detroit inspired house track (Nebraska sent us a ‘note to self’ saying ‘you are not Moodymann’ along with the first demo of this one). He doesn’t have to be; this track has all the clever sampling and disco energy of a classic Nebraska track, nicely tucked into one hell of a groove. The flip starts with ‘Cop Show’: A no frills disco house track with a life affirming string section, guitar licks all over and a bottom end to freak out your neighbour’s neighbours. We round up the EP with another collaboration with BeBelle, with the track ‘Henri Rousseau’. The track is built on a groove that almost gallops along, with strings, outer-worldly vocals and howling soundscapes that turn this track into a covert disco burner on the more experimental side of house music. On the Chant des Oiseaux EP, Nebraska effortlessly shows off his impressive sampling skills, electronic fiddling, and powerful drum programming, reminding us that he’s not lost an inch of talent over the years and manages to surprise us with his music. Knowing him, this is simply because he’s simply exploring new ways to keep surprising himself. Yours sincerely, Maarten & Lars